The authorities are keeping a close
eye on the transparency of marketing material in the hot new area of industrial
property.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority
(URA) says it may look at extending to the industrial market the practice in
the residential sector of ensuring buyers get detailed information on floor
areas.

It has also urged developers of
commercial and industrial properties to provide more information to buyers to
help them make their decisions.

Some investors are unhappy that
property agents market the total floor area of some strata-titled industrial
properties - which includes void areas - even though this space often cannot be
used.

While it is legal to include void
areas in advertising, URA wants to ensure buyers get clear information,
especially as less sophisticated investors enter the market.

Experts say void areas are often
found in high-ceiling units, giving owners the option to double the floor area,
as a mezzanine level can be built in some cases.

Some developers, therefore, base the
per sq ft (psf) price of an industrial unit on the total floor area - which
includes the gross floor area and other areas such as air-con ledges and void
space.

But confusion arises when the
developer has maxed out the total gross floor area of a project and a buyer
will not be able to build the mezzanine level after all, even after paying for
the void space.

Experts say selling void space like
this is allowed. However, buyers must be clearly informed about what exactly is
usable area, especially now that many retail investors have entered the
industrial market in response to residential cooling measures.

Ms Purnima Shantilal, director of
licensing and investigations with the Council for Estate Agencies, said it has
received 35 complaints relating to industrial properties since the start of
last year. However, most of these involve the wrongful marketing of industrial
units for office use.